For the Family I Never Knew
by Kirsta Nadaime
Summary: Four years after the Kyubi was sealed, after her father died, Kiaka left Konoha. Now, 9 years later, she's come back to face the pain she tried to run from, and to try to make amends with the brother she left, least that's what it seems like. Chapter 4 up
1. Coming Home

Konnichiwa mina-san ^_^ This is my first try at writing a Naruto ficcie, second try at writing fanfiction in general, so plz be nice. Any and all constructive criticism is welcome and greatly appreciated.

OMG I'm so stupid…I didn't realize u could just replace chappies so I deleted the story and reposted it…*sweatdrop* 

Chapter 1: Coming Home

It was a cool autumn afternoon. Konoha was beautiful, with multicolored leaves and relative tranquility hanging over the lives of its inhabitants. On a hill overlooking the bustling part of the village sat a young woman, perhaps 17 or 18 years of age, staring fixedly at the Hokage monument on the opposite side of the village. In her hand, she griped the leaf headband that symbolized the passing into adulthood for ninjas in the village below. 

A figure appeared silently behind her—the village's newly appointed fifth Hokage, Tsunade. "You miss him, don't you?" she asked the girl. The girl tensed slightly at the realization of the Hokage behind her, but calmed almost immediately. She answered the question with a silent nod. 

Slowly, she stood up and faced Tsunade, her head hanging slightly, as if burdened by an invisible load on her neck. Her golden bangs fell across her eyes; some of her deep maroon hair picked up the slight breeze and danced to its inaudible tune. After taking a deep breath, she lifted her head and looked at the Hokage. "How could I not?" she asked in return. I've not forgotten him these last thirteen years." 

Tsunade sighed. "You were but a child then, Kiaka." 

"I remember him like it was only yesterday that I last saw him," Kiaka replied, looking to the memorial again. "For nine years I've tried to run away from the pain, for nine years I could not—so I came back. Now I'm home, and I can face the pain." 

A giggle escaped the Hokage. "You've always been in Konoha, one way or another. You've been taking care of your brother all these years, even if he doesn't know about it, or remembers you," she said. A small smile crept to the corner of Kiaka's mouth. 

"Perhaps," she whispered. 

Kiaka followed Tsunade back to the Hokage Manor and filled out the necessary paperwork for her to return to live in Konoha and become, once again, one of its citizens. Her hand shook so violently as she tried to sign the documents that it took her a full hour to finish, and still then a few of her signatures were a mess of swirls. To herself she though, 'I've mentally prepared for this day for a while now, why can't I calm myself?' 

"Okay, next thing," Tsunade announced when Kiaka handed her the documents. "Housing. There is a small problem. Konoha *sweatdrop* is short on housing." She paused and waited for a response. None came. She continued in a more subdued tone. "But I'm sure you already know where you're planning to stay." Still no answer, but the Hokage knew what Kiaka was thinking. "Of course. That boy is probably training with his team currently. Take your things to the apartment." Tsunade handed Kiaka a piece of paper with an address on it. Kiaka still showed hardly any response save for taking the paper and staring at it. 

"And if he asks why…" Kiaka began softly. Tsunade's face grew more solemn. She realized the girl was not all ready to face this.

"You may tell him I assigned you as his roommate. He won't question that," Tsunade finished the sentence. A slight nod was all that showed that Kiaka had heard that at all. 

Suddenly the girl looked at Tsunade, her eyes a little brighter. "Arigatou Hokage-sama," she thanked the leader, bowing as she did. 

"It sounds weird having you call me Hokage-sama," Tsunade hinted, her voice returning a bit to its more playful tone. Kiaka grinned.

"Then arigatou, Tsunade nee-sama." Both of them grinned. 

"Dismissed."

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One last note, Kiaka calling Tsunade nee-sama… she's not using in the context of calling Tsunade her elder sister. Calling young/young-ish women nee-something is a common thing, especially if you're somewhat close to them, or they're a friend of your parents. That's the way that Kiaka's using it. 

I'd like to thank Silver Dragonfly for bringing up the point of when Kiaka left Konoha. I was too wound up trying to make sure certain…people were young enough not to remember her that I completely forgot to realize that the way I originally had it, she left at age 8. Leaving at 9 now might not make much of a difference, but she was forced to grow up fast so I hope it makes a little more sense. Arigatou Silver Dragonfly.

Kirsta


	2. The New Roommate

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Chapter 2: The New Roommate

The warm orange orb of the setting sun was slowly falling below the western horizon as Naruto arrived home after kunai training with his team sporting a couple brand new, bright red cuts, courtesy of Sasuke. The one across his cheekbone still stung though a scab had formed on it already. Thanks to the Kyubi inside him, though, the other cuts, having been only minor, had already completely healed. 

Having arrived at the door to his apartment, he rummaged in his pouch for a key. It didn't seem promising as Naruto sadly started realizing that he had woken up late that morning and had practically run out of his house in order not to be late for practice. Of course, as usual, being late wouldn't really have mattered since Kakashi-sensei didn't finally arrive until three hours after the scheduled meeting time. 

Cursing at his own stupidity, Naruto started pounding on the door, as if some ghost would open the door for him from inside. After a few moments of banging, he switched tactics and tried to ram the door down by repeatedly throwing himself against it. That did nothing more than make his shoulder ache.

Last try: try to ram the door down, but supplement the movement with chakra. Sure, shoulder may get dislocated, but at least he'd get into the house first. The cup noodles of ramen in the kitchen were just calling to him. Standing back from the door as far as he could without falling off the platform, Naruto started concentrating his chakra on his shoulder and feet. In his concentration, he failed to hear someone inside calling, "Okay, okay, I'm coming!"

'Three, two, one,' Naruto mentally counted down in his head. "GO!" He dashed towards the door, eyes closed, almost bracing for pain. So, of course, he didn't even realize when the door opened before him and he plowed straight into the house, nearly hitting the girl who had opened the door for him. He did, though, notice something wrong when he did not feel an impact with the door. Opening his eyes, Naruto had just enough time to realize that a suitcase was in front of him; he had no time to dodge. The momentum he had gathered pushed him forward and he tripped over the suitcase, and flew into the wall. Maybe he should have just kept on bracing for impact. 

Naruto groaned and cursed under his breath as he picked himself up, revealing a small crack in the wall where he hit. His whole body, for the most part, was sore now, but, as he finally realized, there were other things that currently dominated his thoughts, mainly the presence of the robed girl in front of him. In one smooth motion Naruto pulled out a kunai and took a defensive position. 

The girl held her hands up, showing that she was unarmed and had no aggressive intentions. "Who are you?" Naruto demanded calmly, only slightly relaxing, the kunai held tightly in his grip. The girl seemed nervous. 

"My name's Kiaka, I'm new to the village," she said, keeping an eye on the raised kunai. Naruto still was unaware of the girl's intentions. Kiaka went on, masking the nervousness in her voice with cheeriness as best she could. That, of course, didn't work too well. "You must be Uzumaki Naruto. Tsu…Hokage-sama assigned me to this apartment as your roommate. O-ai deki-te ureshii desu, [Nice to meet you,]" she stuttered as she plastered on a happy smile. That kunai in his hand was still on her mind. 

Hearing fear in Kiaka's voice, Naruto decided she was telling the truth and put down the kunai, inviting a breath of relief from the girl. Kiaka's expressions became much more calm and relaxed. "Gomen-ne, Naruto-kun, for not opening the door sooner," she apologized. "I was in the shower." 

"No big deal, no big deal!" Naruto said with his usual brash cheeriness. He hurt all over now, yes, but OF COURSE it was no big deal. "Oh, nee-san*, what's your name again?" For a split second, Kiaka froze midstep.

"Kiaka," the girl replied as she headed back to the bathroom. "I'm going to change first, then I'll answer the rest of your questions." 

She emerged from the bathroom five minutes later having replaced her long robe with a maroon sweater adorned with a wide turtleneck and a pair of dark brown pants. A belt with attacked pouch wrapped around her waist and the standard Konoha-issue shiriken and kunai holsters were in her hands, as she had not bothered to fasten them to her leg. "Ah, cleanliness is a wonderful thing," she announced as she entered the living room where Naruto currently laid on the couch. 

She laid her holsters on a chair and sat down on the armrest of the couch. Without Naruto saying anything or moving, Kiaka knew that the younger boy ached all over. Even without the Hyuga eyes that gifted another clan of this village she could tell that Naruto's chakra system wasn't flowing smoothly, no doubt a result from the combination of fatigue from training and running into things multiple times. An urge came over Kiaka to help the boy, but she restrained herself. The extent of her skills was best left unknown for the time being. 

Interrupting the silent thoughts of Naruto and Kiaka came a loud rumbling from Naruto's stomach. The hunger suddenly clearly showed on Naruto's face and Kiaka couldn't help but laugh. "I'll make some ramen, is that okay?" Kiaka asked. Naruto's eyes lit up. 

"If you knew me better I would call you an idiot for even having to ask," he replied in a humorous matter-of-factly voice. Kiaka disappeared into the kitchen. Suppressing his body's protests to movement, Naruto pushed himself to a siting position and slowly got onto his feet. He followed Kiaka into the kitchen slowly and sat himself down at the table, watching the older girl cook one of his favorite foods. 

"Ano, hey Kiaka nee-san, since we're roommates now, how about we get to know each other a little better," Naruto suggested, then went on a little more carefully, "would it be okay if I asked about what you did before you came to our village?" Kiaka smiled.

"It's fine," she replied, "But why don't you tell me about yourself first; while I'm finishing with cooking?" Without delay Naruto dove full speed into talking about his dreams, ambitions, friends, rivals, teachers, and favorite foods, just as one expects Naruto to do when asked to tell a little about himself. And for him, Kiaka was a great listener, reacting where she was supposed. 

Finally he was finished and the ramen was finished. Kiaka gingerly set the two hot bowls on the table and sat opposite of Naruto. 

"Itadakimasu!" both exclaimed before digging into the food. After a couple seconds or so Naruto looked at Kiaka. 

"Kiaka nee-san, your turn to tell me about yourself," he announced with a grin, probably ramen induced. 

For a moment, Kiaka just smiled. "Saa… where do I start?" she contemplated aloud.

*********************************************************************

notes: 

like in the first chapter with Kiaka calling Tsunade, Tsunade nee-sama, Naruto calls Kiaka, Kiaka nee-san, not because she's his sister, but just cuz she's older than him and a young woman. A think a short time line explaination is in order rite now so everyone gets it straight ^^() a few people have asked me to clarify already. Ok here goes:  
* Kiaka left Konoha four years after the kyubi was sealed, that makes Naruto four then  
* She was gone for 9 years, making Naruto now 13 years old  
* She's 18 now, making her 9 when she left Konoha 

Hope you like the chapter ^^() I'm sorry I just couldn't help but put some humor into it. When I started writing Naruto was only supposed to find his keys, but then I got sugar high and… you get the idea *sweatdrop*

Till next time, ja ne everyone ^_^ Please review! 

Kirsta


	3. Kiaka's Story

*insert usual disclaimer here*

I usually write short chapters, but this got pretty long *eyes it*

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Chapter 3: Kiaka's Story

"Where do I start?" Kiaka mused aloud. "To seem to be a logical person, I guess I'll start from the beginning," she joked. "I was born here in Konoha eighteen years ago to a highly praised family, last of our line. Father was a gifted shinobi, well respected, and mother was just…mother. Before I was born she was a full time shinobi, dedicated to the village, but when I came along she simply became devoted to our little family—me and my father…"

*flashback*

Kiaka followed her mother around the kitchen, observing, with her four-year-old's fascination, her mother setting out dinner. The food smelled delicious, and the little girl was tempted to dip her finger in one of the sauces to get a taste. But, the sauce was steaming, having been just taken off the stove, and little Kiaka had learned her lesson about sticking body parts in hot things last time. That wasn't pretty.

"Kiaka-chan, can you put out the chopsticks?" her mother asked in a singsong voice reserved for the little girl. Completely thrilled to be able to help, Kiaka ran off and grabbed a stool to stand on so she could reach the utensil's drawer. She grabbed three pairs of chopsticks and set them on the table, two big pairs for her parents, and one tiny pair for herself. 

Now the table was all set for dinner, save for one thing, no, person, missing. Daddy wasn't home yet. Kiaka's mother looked at the clock, at the same time taking off her apron and letting her long auburn hair down.. She sighed, slightly annoyed. "Daddy's late," she announced as she picked up a frying pan and washed it. Kiaka giggled, knowing her "perfect shinobi" of a father was going to be told off by his wife.

Both mother and daughter "felt" the tardy father arrive outside the door. "Daddy's home!" Kiaka cried as she ran to the door. Having been doing this everyday recently, her timing was almost perfect; just as the door completely opened she would get to it and jumped on her father. If he was really tired that day, she may even end up knocking him over. The timing was perfect…usually. Today she jumped and knocked her knee on the doorknob, tripping her in midair. Only the quick reflexes of her father prevented her from landing on her face.

Having been saved, Kiaka latched herself to her father's neck, then after a second, let go and rubbed her throbbing knee. That's going to be a bruise. Her father gave her a kiss, set her down, and closed the door behind them, then looked almost pleadingly at his wife.

"Honey, I'm…" he started.

"You're late!" his wife announced in a strict tone, throwing down the dishtowel with which she had been drying off the pan. She walked closer to the man, who took a step away and held up his hands. The little girl moved to her seat at the dinner table and watched the little show from a safe distance away.

"You're late and dinner's getting cold," the woman continued, still advancing on her retreating husband with what looked like a slightly murderous glint in her eyes. 

"Honey, let me explain," the man said as he scooted away, "Today was really busy and I got piled with paperwork that had to be finished before I left, so I had to do them before I could come home. I'm really sorry I'm late coming home—" he jumped backwards over the couch—" I really am and I'm sorry for letting dinner start to get cold. But honey, please…could you…please PUT DOWN THE FRYING PAN!" he pleaded, covering his head. A few seconds of silence passed, then the house erupted into laughter, first from the woman, than her husband and child following. The woman put the frying pan away and announced, with her eyes shining with laughter, 

"Let's eat."

***end flashback***

"The first few years of my childhood were joyous, and more importantly, pretty much normal. I had everything I needed, and many things I simply wanted. Then the Kyubi came. 

I hardly got a chance to see my father after that, he was always busy. My mother was pregnant at the time, but when the draft for part time chunin to fight was raised, she was one of the first to sign up. Her obligations to the village to her, in this situation, overrode her duties as mother. Father didn't know she signed up. I was left in the care of one of father's friends whose squad had been called off duty to regroup after losing most of their members. 

After a few weeks, word of my mother fighting reached my father and he ordered her home, for a battlefield was no place for a pregnant mother. I left the care of father's friend and went back to live with my mother. For those months, life for me was practically normal, save for the usual absence of my father. Mother did a good job of shielding me from the horrors of the world around me. I think of it as her last and most precious gift to me…"

***flashback***

Kiaka sat in the waiting room of the hospital impatiently, swinging her feet and watching for someone to beckon her and tell her about her new younger brother. She waited for a long time, then finally, she saw her father come out. Her eyes lit up at the sight of her father, who she had not seen all that week. She didn't even know he was here. 

The way he walked, though, was burdened, the usual brightness in his blue eyes replaced by a deep sorrow. Being only five years old, though, Kiaka didn't notice. "Daddy!" she exclaimed, jumping off the chair and going over to her father. "Where's mommy? Where's my little brother?" she asked excitedly, tugging on her father's long jacket. Her father dropped on his knees next her and held her tightly in his arms, tears rolling down his face. 

"Your brother's fine," he told her, "But mommy—" he choked on a silent sob "—mommy died, Kiaka." His grip on her tightened as he began to tremble. Kiaka squirmed as his grip began to hurt her. 

"So I won't be able to see mommy again?" she asked with a sad tone, her innocent mind failing to truly grasp the meaning of death past the obvious.

"No, Kiaka," her father replied solemnly, wiping away his tears with his hand. 

"And she won't tuck me in or read me a story or make dinner for me?" the little girl persisted.

"No, Kiaka, mommy's gone." Kiaka's eyes watered and her lips quivered. 

"But I don't want her to go! No..." she whined and cried. Her father picked her up into his arms and held her close. 

"You might not be able to see mommy anymore, but she'll always be there in your heart," he said, placing a hand over Kiaka's heart as tears still rolled down his own cheeks. "Mommy's gone to a better place now, and she will watch over you and your brother forever and ever."

"Is mommy an angel in heaven now?" Kiaka asked. Her father smiled.

"Yes," he replied with a smile. "Do you want to go see your brother?" he asked, wiping away the tears from both their faces. Kiaka nodded. 

Her father took her to the room where all the newborns were lying in cribs and made his way through the cribs until they reached the one containing his son. Kiaka gazed at her new little brother, mesmerized by his golden hair, matching that of their father's and tiny hands and feet. On his face were six birthmarks, looking almost like whiskers. 

"It's your job now to take care of him, Kiaka-chan," her father told her. She looked at him and nodded vigorously. 

"I will!" she proclaimed. "Forever and ever and ever and…"

***end flashback***

"My mother died giving birth to my little brother, and a day later father died fighting the Kyubi. Then the demon was sealed and the war ended, leaving me to take care of my baby brother. We lived with family friends, which was just as well, since I wasn't able to take care of myself, much less my brother, living alone. And on top of that, I enrolled into the ninja academy and started my studies, leaving even less time for me to look after my brother. 

Looking back now, I think I worked so hard at my studies so that I could distance myself from my little brother. He just reminded me too much of my father, and our broken family. That boy hardly knew me, I kept to myself so much. But in other ways I kept my promise to look after him. If people picked on him, they answered to me, if he were hurt, I'd tend to his wounds, if he were sick, I'd stay with him. Other than that, though, I concentrated on my studies.

When I was nine I graduated from the academy, and I dipped into the inheritance my parents left me and my brother and bought back the apartment I had spent the first five years of my life in. I left it to my brother for when he would be of age to take care of himself and move in there. 

Now having received my leaf headband and technically passed into adulthood, I dipped into the inheritance again, took out a little money to spend until I found a way to keep myself going, and I left Konoha. For more of a reason than anything else I simply tried to run away from the pain lying in my past. I tried to forget my father, my life, my pain, but I couldn't. So after nine years, I've come back to face that pain, and to maybe make amends with that little brother I abandoned," Kiaka absentmindedly stared at the leftover soup in her former bowl of ramen as she finished her story. Naruto looked at her with compassionate eyes.

"You're life has been a sad story, Kiaka nee-san," he said, almost apologetically. "I hope coming back will make it better." 

Kiaka smiled. "It think it already has."

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oie oie gomen ne if I got carried away with the flashbacks, I tend to do that at least once in a fic. Thanx guys for all the reviews and suggestions, they've help a lot. Domo-arigatou gosimous. ß pretty sure I spelled that wrong lol. 

Anyway, please review! See ya later

Kirsta


	4. Scolded

I am alive!!!!! The chapter took lotsa lotsa time to write and get up, for more than one reason. First of all, I blame school, music, and other after school activities. Secondly, I blame writer's block…really really bad writer's block. Thirdly, deciding to draw again, took lotsa creative time away from writing, fourthly my beta reader deciding to stall and not read the chappie right away(she asked her name be kept secret to avoid hate mail), and fifthly and finally, I became owner of a Naruto RPG…right after the last owner deleted every single page on the site, profiles, techniques, store, everything… ;_; and I made up most of those pages and their contents too. It was only a week after someone ELSE had went and deleted the whole site, and I was just about finishing restoring what we had. Anyway, now its 98% done, completely spelling out everything that is, and we've actually started rp-ing, and we keep getting so many new people that I keep having to audition new senseis x.x. On top of that, I'm in pit orchestra, symphony orchestra, model UN, HOBY (Yah!), Tri-M, piano exams, clarinet and piano lessons, doing 3 pieces at solo/ensemble festival (next Saturday) and just got accepted into NHS and made manager/co-captain of the Ladies Varsity Golf Team…plus im in stupid many project/homework giving GT/preAP courses!!!!!!!. Needless to say… I wanna die. I am so over friggin stressed. 

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I wouldn't survive owning Naruto on top of what I'm doing already.

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Chapter 4: Scolded

Warm rays of the late morning sun slipped through the venetian blinds adorning the windows of the spare bedroom in Uzumaki Naruto's apartment, a room now given to his new roommate, Kiaka. As light fell across her eyes, Kiaka was stirred out of sleep, and snuggled deeper under her blanket in an effort to escape the light. Unfortunately, the waking day called to her senses, and falling back asleep was hence impossible. In the shadows created by her blanket, she opened her eyes, taking a moment to remember where she was, what she was doing. 

'That's right, I'm in Konoha again,' she whispered to herself. Throwing the covers off, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and got up. She walked over to the window, pulled the blinds up, and threw them open, letting the outside air burst into the room. After breathing deeply a few times, familiarizing herself with the air her native town, she gazed out the window at the town below, just watching the people going about their business. It has been quite some time since she had lived a day like that… a normal one, that is, especially in Konoha. "I wish I could live a normal day like that again," she sighed, turning her back towards the window and walking towards the door. 

She seemed to be looking for something on the doorframe as she ran her hand along the edges at the base. On the left side, bout a foot and a half off the ground, she found it: a small, rough carving of the Konoha leaf—a souvenir of the day her father had left his kunais out in the open, and she, as a bored four year old, took one. A smile crept onto her face as she traced the symbol with her finger, remembering her childhood, a short time in her life where she had big dreams, carefree days, and an unbroken family. Her heart ached to go back to that time.

Pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind, she opened the door and steped into the short hallway connecting the bathroom, living room, and two bedrooms. She walked towards the living room, going from the dark of the hallway to the golden luminence of the living room. 

The soft pats of her slippered feet on the wood floor brought a new surge of memories. Kiaka closed her eyes and further slowed her pace, holding out her hands to touch both sides of the wall as she walked. She picked up a faint scent of cooking, and recognized it as her mother's. A smile crept onto her lips as she remembered; her mother would be walking out into the dining room with breakfast, her father would be on the couch surrounded by and reading some scrolls, still dressed in pajamas. 

Unable to contain herself, Kiaka skipped the rest of the way to the living room, her last step a jump into the room, as she had done as a child. Her eyes were now opened, her smile genuine. "Ohayo Oto-sa…" [Morning Da…] she started to say. Her voice trailed of as reality bitch-slapped her in the face, wrenching her away from her dream. 

For a moment there, Kiaka really thought she saw her father was sitting there on the couch, and her mother was walking out of the kitchen. With a dejected smile, she closed her eyes and shook the image from her head. 

"Naruto-kun?" she called. But the boy had already left for practice, she realized as she went back peeked into the room adjacent to hers and found a messy bed with a pair of pajamas and walrus nightcap thrown on top. She laughed once and proceeded to getting ready for the day.

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Dressed and washed, she went back into her room and fastened on her kunai and shuriken holsters. As she picked up her headband, she stopped. 'I've left, no…abandoned the village for so many years,' she thought to herself. 'What right do I have to wear this proudly like everyone…like…him?' But as she moved to place the symbolic item back on the dresser, she stopped yet again, not able to bring herself to be without it. And what would people think if she didn't have it with her? Her mind in turmoil, she finally decided to wear the headband—though not proudly displaying it on her forehead as most do. Instead, she tied it to her left arm. Satisfied with herself, she headed towards the main door and slipped her sandals on—then saw the bento box on the table in the living room—Naruto's lunch. 

Kiaka laughed. "Out of everything I would expect him to forget…his lunch?" She hopped over to the table on her un-shoed foot and picked up the package. "Not like I have anything else to do, might as well take it to him," she decided as she hopped back towards the door and slipped into her other sandal.

Stepping outside and closing the door behind her, Kiaka felt and heard her stomach growl. She tried to open the door again and perhaps grab something to eat first. "Aw man," she whined as she realized that the door was locked, and Naruto had the only key…or at least she hoped he had the only key. 

Hunger called from her stomach again, and Kiaka decided she would go pick up something on the way to the training grounds. She jumped down from the porch and started heading off. She kept her head slightly down, ignoring the glances of slight recognition from some of the slightly older ninjas and villagers. Having been away for so long, not many of those who had a glimmer of recognition completely recognized who Kiaka was, and she didn't let them get better looks at her as she speeded up. Pretty soon she gave up using the streets and started jumping from building to building.

Landing in from of the deli, she walked in and up to the counter. "Konnichiwa, how may I help you?" the man sitting behind the counter greeted when he heard the bell in the door, signaling a customer walking in. He got up and slowly shuffled over to the register. 

"Konnichiwa," Kiaka cheerily greeted back as she walked over. "One turkey and tuna on honey wheat sub please, heavy on the mayonnaise." The old man's eyes went slightly wide as he squinted at Kiaka and fumbled with the glasses hung around his neck.

"I'd recognize that order anywhere. Kiaka-chan, is that you?" he asked as he got his glasses on. Kiaka smiled widely. 

"It's been a long time since I've been here, Homaru-sama," Kiaka said as he man's face lit up with genuine surprise and happiness. He extended his arms and Kiaka leaned over the counter and hugged him. 

"Ah, child, it's been so long! My how you've grown up!" Homaru exclaimed happily. "You look as pretty as your mother and I can see your father's strength in your eyes." Kiaka's smile just grew wider with the remark. 

"Arigatou," she managed to utter, still smiling. Letting her go, Homaru shuffled over to the deli case.

"Now, let me get that sandwich together for you."

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Kiaka left the deli in a very good mood and continued to the training grounds. She arrived there just around midday and well… looked around blankly. She had no idea where Naruto's team practiced. That wasn't going to last long….

"PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE!!!! I'M HUNGRY!" Naruto's voice rang through the forest to Kiaka's left. Birds flew up from the trees where the shout came from, affirming the location. Kiaka laughed amusedly as she walked towards team 7, slowly.

As she neared them, Kiaka jumped into the canopy and moved through the trees, her mediocre ability at silent movement obvious as leaves rustled, making her movement and position blatantly obvious…well, to Kakashi and Sasuke anyway. Sakura was busy fending off the ravenous Naruto from her food. The #1 graduate drew a kunai as Kiaka jumped down into the clearing. Kakashi appeared unfazed, as usual. Naruto and Sakura stopped their struggle and looked over.

"Kiaka nee-san!" Naruto exclaimed. He saw his bento in her hands and his eyes lit up. "Is that my lunch? Oh my gawd thank you!" he said as he jumped over and hugged her, then the bento box. He didn't seem to realize that everyone was staring at them…well, he probably wouldn't have cared either. Kiaka noticed the puzzled faces of Naruto's team members, though.

"Konnichiwa, I'm Naruto's new roommate. My name's Kiaka," she introduced herself. 

"Konnichiwa."

"Hi."

"…" replied Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi respectively, Kakashi being the one who was speechless. He simply gawked at the girl blankly. Suddenly life came back to his face. He pointed at Kiaka.

"YOU! You are the last person I would have expected…or hoped…to see today," he said with a calm demeanor. Silence befell the group. Kiaka stared at Kakashi half defiantly, half despondantly. She seemed to change.

"Harsh words, Kakashi-kun, but they're undoubtedly true," Kiaka finally replied, breaking the silence. Her face had become cold, her voice suddenly ceased to betray any tone, except perhaps a hint of hatred. Most everyone, that is, except for Naruto, noticed her change of attitude. Unnoticed by his students, Sharingan Kakashi tensed slightly, ready to draw a weapon.

"Nee-san, you know Kakashi-sensei?" he asked, clear surprised noted in his voice. Hearing his voice, Kiaka seemed to realize something, and returned to her normal temperament. The team's supervisor let out a small breath of relief and relaxed. 

"Yeah! You called him 'kun,'" Sakura said, pointing out the obvious. Kiaka smiled and glanced at Kakashi as she replied.

"When I was young, Kakashi-kun used to babysit me," Kiaka replied matter-of-factly. The eyes of all the genin on team 7 went wide, if only slightly. All heads turned to Kakashi.

"YOU BABYSAT!" Naruto and Sakura exclaimed. The jounin hung his head slightly, perhaps in shame.

"I was forced." Kiaka nodded energetically in agreement. More than one person sweatdropped.

Naruto's stomach grumbled loudly, reminding everyone that it was lunch time. Pulling out her very…interesting…sandwich from her side pouch, Kiaka joined the genin for lunch. Kakashi went off somewhere, as usual, not allowing anyone to see him eat. 

"What…is that?" Sakura asked as she watched Kiaka take a bite out of her weird looking sandwich. 

"Urey eh eur an unee eee, una anonah," Kiaka tried to say with her mouth full. Holding up a finger, she quickly chewed and swallowed. 

"Gomen nasai [sorry]. Its turkey and tuna on honey wheat with lotsa mayonaise," she said happily. Sakura made a disgusted face, as did Sasuke and Naruto. Seeing their responses, Kiaka piped up. "IT'S GOOD!" Then the subject was dropped, for the three genin wanted to forget they asked and still have an appetite for their own lunches.

Kakashi came back as the three genin finished their lunches; Kiaka was just coming back after going to buy a drink. "Continue you're target practice, you three," he instructed. "And Kiaka, I want to talk to you." In the process of drinking her Mountain Dew, Kiaka shifted her eyes to Kakashi and nodded slightly to show comprehension of his words. Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto headed deeper into the forest for the target exercise that was set up.

After drinking about half the bottle, Kiaka capped it and wiped her mouth with her hand. Kakashi motioned for her to follow, and headed up into the treetops. She followed. They stopped after a short while, standing on branches in the dense canopy of the forest. Kakashi turned to face Kiaka, leaning on the trunk of a tree. Kiaka sat down on the same branch, neither looked at the other. 

"What has it been, ten years?" Kakashi asked in a tone slightly softer than normal.

"Nine," Kiaka corrected, her voice equally subdued. A period of silence passed.

"Does he remember you?" 

"No." 

"Did you tell him?"

"No." Kiaka hung her head. Kakashi paused for a second and looked over at her.

"Are you going to tell him?" There was no response. A long break of silence passed, a light wind filtered through the canopy, toying with the hair of both ninjas. After it passed, Kakashi spoke again. "He deserves to know."

"I know. But I don't deserve…"

"So you're putting yourself before him?" Kakashi cut in, silencing Kiaka. "You did it once." Kiaka could not let that slide unanswered.

"That was a long time ago, Kakashi," she snapped, returning his gaze. "I've changed." The jounin pushed himself off the trunk and walked over to Kiaka, standing next to her. 

"And so has he," he said, his tone more commanding, a hint of fury in it. "You left him to grow up without a family. You left him to fend for himself, to live life while the whole village hated him—by himself." The younger girl's gaze dropped again.

"I had to."

"To escape your pain? Save your excuses. You left your brother, your only family, before he even got to learn what the word meant!" Never had Kiaka seen Kakashi this infuriated, especially towards her. She felt tears welling up in her eyes as a result of the scolding and fought to keep them from falling. One single tear did fall, and she wiped away all her tears with her sleeve. No new tears came, for she wouldn't let them. She tilted her head back and looked fixedly at Kakashi, her demeanor resuming to the one she wore when she first addressed Kakashi today—cold, unfeeling. 

"I told you, I've changed," she said, her voice void of emotion. She looked away, and when she turned back, this time avoiding Kakashi's gaze, her aura had once again returned to normal. In a softer voice, she said, "I'm not nine anymore."

Kakashi sighed. "I know…and I'm not seventeen. And he's not four." Kiaka replied in an even softer voice, barely a whisper.

"I wouldn't have come back without reason." 

********************************************

*Sigh* Yay finally finished! Ima happy person right now. Hope you liked it, please REVIEW! In case yur wondering what good reviews do, some of this chappie, plus some plot aspects later on, have their roots from reviews. Plus, reviews and knowing people like this keeps me writing so I don't give up when writer's block hits. ^^ 

Ja ne for now mina-san!

Kirsta

Oh and if anyone wants to see my rpg the site is http://groups.msn.com/NarutoHangoutPalace ; its also listed as my webpage, and I'm Hyuga Hinata on the site. (and yes someone did take Kiaka already)


	5. Scolded aw crap i loaded it twice

I am alive!!!!! The chapter took lotsa lotsa time to write and get up, for more than one reason. First of all, I blame school, music, and other after school activities. Secondly, I blame writer's block…really really bad writer's block. Thirdly, deciding to draw again, took lotsa creative time away from writing, fourthly my beta reader deciding to stall and not read the chappie right away(she asked her name be kept secret to avoid hate mail), and fifthly and finally, I became owner of a Naruto RPG…right after the last owner deleted every single page on the site, profiles, techniques, store, everything… ;_; and I made up most of those pages and their contents too. It was only a week after someone ELSE had went and deleted the whole site, and I was just about finishing restoring what we had. Anyway, now its 98% done, completely spelling out everything that is, and we've actually started rp-ing, and we keep getting so many new people that I keep having to audition new senseis x.x. On top of that, I'm in pit orchestra, symphony orchestra, model UN, HOBY (Yah!), Tri-M, piano exams, clarinet and piano lessons, doing 3 pieces at solo/ensemble festival (next Saturday) and just got accepted into NHS and made manager/co-captain of the Ladies Varsity Golf Team…plus im in stupid many project/homework giving GT/preAP courses!!!!!!!. Needless to say… I wanna die. I am so over friggin stressed. 

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I wouldn't survive owning Naruto on top of what I'm doing already.

************************************

Chapter 4: Scolded

Warm rays of the late morning sun slipped through the venetian blinds adorning the windows of the spare bedroom in Uzumaki Naruto's apartment, a room now given to his new roommate, Kiaka. As light fell across her eyes, Kiaka was stirred out of sleep, and snuggled deeper under her blanket in an effort to escape the light. Unfortunately, the waking day called to her senses, and falling back asleep was hence impossible. In the shadows created by her blanket, she opened her eyes, taking a moment to remember where she was, what she was doing. 

'That's right, I'm in Konoha again,' she whispered to herself. Throwing the covers off, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and got up. She walked over to the window, pulled the blinds up, and threw them open, letting the outside air burst into the room. After breathing deeply a few times, familiarizing herself with the air her native town, she gazed out the window at the town below, just watching the people going about their business. It has been quite some time since she had lived a day like that… a normal one, that is, especially in Konoha. "I wish I could live a normal day like that again," she sighed, turning her back towards the window and walking towards the door. 

She seemed to be looking for something on the doorframe as she ran her hand along the edges at the base. On the left side, bout a foot and a half off the ground, she found it: a small, rough carving of the Konoha leaf—a souvenir of the day her father had left his kunais out in the open, and she, as a bored four year old, took one. A smile crept onto her face as she traced the symbol with her finger, remembering her childhood, a short time in her life where she had big dreams, carefree days, and an unbroken family. Her heart ached to go back to that time.

Pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind, she opened the door and steped into the short hallway connecting the bathroom, living room, and two bedrooms. She walked towards the living room, going from the dark of the hallway to the golden luminence of the living room. 

The soft pats of her slippered feet on the wood floor brought a new surge of memories. Kiaka closed her eyes and further slowed her pace, holding out her hands to touch both sides of the wall as she walked. She picked up a faint scent of cooking, and recognized it as her mother's. A smile crept onto her lips as she remembered; her mother would be walking out into the dining room with breakfast, her father would be on the couch surrounded by and reading some scrolls, still dressed in pajamas. 

Unable to contain herself, Kiaka skipped the rest of the way to the living room, her last step a jump into the room, as she had done as a child. Her eyes were now opened, her smile genuine. "Ohayo Oto-sa…" [Morning Da…] she started to say. Her voice trailed of as reality bitch-slapped her in the face, wrenching her away from her dream. 

For a moment there, Kiaka really thought she saw her father was sitting there on the couch, and her mother was walking out of the kitchen. With a dejected smile, she closed her eyes and shook the image from her head. 

"Naruto-kun?" she called. But the boy had already left for practice, she realized as she went back peeked into the room adjacent to hers and found a messy bed with a pair of pajamas and walrus nightcap thrown on top. She laughed once and proceeded to getting ready for the day.

**********************************

Dressed and washed, she went back into her room and fastened on her kunai and shuriken holsters. As she picked up her headband, she stopped. 'I've left, no…abandoned the village for so many years,' she thought to herself. 'What right do I have to wear this proudly like everyone…like…him?' But as she moved to place the symbolic item back on the dresser, she stopped yet again, not able to bring herself to be without it. And what would people think if she didn't have it with her? Her mind in turmoil, she finally decided to wear the headband—though not proudly displaying it on her forehead as most do. Instead, she tied it to her left arm. Satisfied with herself, she headed towards the main door and slipped her sandals on—then saw the bento box on the table in the living room—Naruto's lunch. 

Kiaka laughed. "Out of everything I would expect him to forget…his lunch?" She hopped over to the table on her un-shoed foot and picked up the package. "Not like I have anything else to do, might as well take it to him," she decided as she hopped back towards the door and slipped into her other sandal.

Stepping outside and closing the door behind her, Kiaka felt and heard her stomach growl. She tried to open the door again and perhaps grab something to eat first. "Aw man," she whined as she realized that the door was locked, and Naruto had the only key…or at least she hoped he had the only key. 

Hunger called from her stomach again, and Kiaka decided she would go pick up something on the way to the training grounds. She jumped down from the porch and started heading off. She kept her head slightly down, ignoring the glances of slight recognition from some of the slightly older ninjas and villagers. Having been away for so long, not many of those who had a glimmer of recognition completely recognized who Kiaka was, and she didn't let them get better looks at her as she speeded up. Pretty soon she gave up using the streets and started jumping from building to building.

Landing in from of the deli, she walked in and up to the counter. "Konnichiwa, how may I help you?" the man sitting behind the counter greeted when he heard the bell in the door, signaling a customer walking in. He got up and slowly shuffled over to the register. 

"Konnichiwa," Kiaka cheerily greeted back as she walked over. "One turkey and tuna on honey wheat sub please, heavy on the mayonnaise." The old man's eyes went slightly wide as he squinted at Kiaka and fumbled with the glasses hung around his neck.

"I'd recognize that order anywhere. Kiaka-chan, is that you?" he asked as he got his glasses on. Kiaka smiled widely. 

"It's been a long time since I've been here, Homaru-sama," Kiaka said as he man's face lit up with genuine surprise and happiness. He extended his arms and Kiaka leaned over the counter and hugged him. 

"Ah, child, it's been so long! My how you've grown up!" Homaru exclaimed happily. "You look as pretty as your mother and I can see your father's strength in your eyes." Kiaka's smile just grew wider with the remark. 

"Arigatou," she managed to utter, still smiling. Letting her go, Homaru shuffled over to the deli case.

"Now, let me get that sandwich together for you."

**************************************

Kiaka left the deli in a very good mood and continued to the training grounds. She arrived there just around midday and well… looked around blankly. She had no idea where Naruto's team practiced. That wasn't going to last long….

"PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE!!!! I'M HUNGRY!" Naruto's voice rang through the forest to Kiaka's left. Birds flew up from the trees where the shout came from, affirming the location. Kiaka laughed amusedly as she walked towards team 7, slowly.

As she neared them, Kiaka jumped into the canopy and moved through the trees, her mediocre ability at silent movement obvious as leaves rustled, making her movement and position blatantly obvious…well, to Kakashi and Sasuke anyway. Sakura was busy fending off the ravenous Naruto from her food. The #1 graduate drew a kunai as Kiaka jumped down into the clearing. Kakashi appeared unfazed, as usual. Naruto and Sakura stopped their struggle and looked over.

"Kiaka nee-san!" Naruto exclaimed. He saw his bento in her hands and his eyes lit up. "Is that my lunch? Oh my gawd thank you!" he said as he jumped over and hugged her, then the bento box. He didn't seem to realize that everyone was staring at them…well, he probably wouldn't have cared either. Kiaka noticed the puzzled faces of Naruto's team members, though.

"Konnichiwa, I'm Naruto's new roommate. My name's Kiaka," she introduced herself. 

"Konnichiwa."

"Hi."

"…" replied Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi respectively, Kakashi being the one who was speechless. He simply gawked at the girl blankly. Suddenly life came back to his face. He pointed at Kiaka.

"YOU! You are the last person I would have expected…or hoped…to see today," he said with a calm demeanor. Silence befell the group. Kiaka stared at Kakashi half defiantly, half despondantly. She seemed to change.

"Harsh words, Kakashi-kun, but they're undoubtedly true," Kiaka finally replied, breaking the silence. Her face had become cold, her voice suddenly ceased to betray any tone, except perhaps a hint of hatred. Most everyone, that is, except for Naruto, noticed her change of attitude. Unnoticed by his students, Sharingan Kakashi tensed slightly, ready to draw a weapon.

"Nee-san, you know Kakashi-sensei?" he asked, clear surprised noted in his voice. Hearing his voice, Kiaka seemed to realize something, and returned to her normal temperament. The team's supervisor let out a small breath of relief and relaxed. 

"Yeah! You called him 'kun,'" Sakura said, pointing out the obvious. Kiaka smiled and glanced at Kakashi as she replied.

"When I was young, Kakashi-kun used to babysit me," Kiaka replied matter-of-factly. The eyes of all the genin on team 7 went wide, if only slightly. All heads turned to Kakashi.

"YOU BABYSAT!" Naruto and Sakura exclaimed. The jounin hung his head slightly, perhaps in shame.

"I was forced." Kiaka nodded energetically in agreement. More than one person sweatdropped.

Naruto's stomach grumbled loudly, reminding everyone that it was lunch time. Pulling out her very…interesting…sandwich from her side pouch, Kiaka joined the genin for lunch. Kakashi went off somewhere, as usual, not allowing anyone to see him eat. 

"What…is that?" Sakura asked as she watched Kiaka take a bite out of her weird looking sandwich. 

"Urey eh eur an unee eee, una anonah," Kiaka tried to say with her mouth full. Holding up a finger, she quickly chewed and swallowed. 

"Gomen nasai [sorry]. Its turkey and tuna on honey wheat with lotsa mayonaise," she said happily. Sakura made a disgusted face, as did Sasuke and Naruto. Seeing their responses, Kiaka piped up. "IT'S GOOD!" Then the subject was dropped, for the three genin wanted to forget they asked and still have an appetite for their own lunches.

Kakashi came back as the three genin finished their lunches; Kiaka was just coming back after going to buy a drink. "Continue you're target practice, you three," he instructed. "And Kiaka, I want to talk to you." In the process of drinking her Mountain Dew, Kiaka shifted her eyes to Kakashi and nodded slightly to show comprehension of his words. Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto headed deeper into the forest for the target exercise that was set up.

After drinking about half the bottle, Kiaka capped it and wiped her mouth with her hand. Kakashi motioned for her to follow, and headed up into the treetops. She followed. They stopped after a short while, standing on branches in the dense canopy of the forest. Kakashi turned to face Kiaka, leaning on the trunk of a tree. Kiaka sat down on the same branch, neither looked at the other. 

"What has it been, ten years?" Kakashi asked in a tone slightly softer than normal.

"Nine," Kiaka corrected, her voice equally subdued. A period of silence passed.

"Does he remember you?" 

"No." 

"Did you tell him?"

"No." Kiaka hung her head. Kakashi paused for a second and looked over at her.

"Are you going to tell him?" There was no response. A long break of silence passed, a light wind filtered through the canopy, toying with the hair of both ninjas. After it passed, Kakashi spoke again. "He deserves to know."

"I know. But I don't deserve…"

"So you're putting yourself before him?" Kakashi cut in, silencing Kiaka. "You did it once." Kiaka could not let that slide unanswered.

"That was a long time ago, Kakashi," she snapped, returning his gaze. "I've changed." The jounin pushed himself off the trunk and walked over to Kiaka, standing next to her. 

"And so has he," he said, his tone more commanding, a hint of fury in it. "You left him to grow up without a family. You left him to fend for himself, to live life while the whole village hated him—by himself." The younger girl's gaze dropped again.

"I had to."

"To escape your pain? Save your excuses. You left your brother, your only family, before he even got to learn what the word meant!" Never had Kiaka seen Kakashi this infuriated, especially towards her. She felt tears welling up in her eyes as a result of the scolding and fought to keep them from falling. One single tear did fall, and she wiped away all her tears with her sleeve. No new tears came, for she wouldn't let them. She tilted her head back and looked fixedly at Kakashi, her demeanor resuming to the one she wore when she first addressed Kakashi today—cold, unfeeling. 

"I told you, I've changed," she said, her voice void of emotion. She looked away, and when she turned back, this time avoiding Kakashi's gaze, her aura had once again returned to normal. In a softer voice, she said, "I'm not nine anymore."

Kakashi sighed. "I know…and I'm not seventeen. And he's not four." Kiaka replied in an even softer voice, barely a whisper.

"I wouldn't have come back without reason." 

********************************************

*Sigh* Yay finally finished! Ima happy person right now. Hope you liked it, please REVIEW! In case yur wondering what good reviews do, some of this chappie, plus some plot aspects later on, have their roots from reviews. Plus, reviews and knowing people like this keeps me writing so I don't give up when writer's block hits. ^^ 

Ja ne for now mina-san!

Kirsta

Oh and if anyone wants to see my rpg the site is http://groups.msn.com/NarutoHangoutPalace ; its also listed as my webpage, and I'm Hyuga Hinata on the site. (and yes someone did take Kiaka already)


End file.
